New Year's Dreams
by harinezumiko
Summary: Compilation of AU fics.  1. Pulp sci-fi, Yugi/Anzu, Seto/Kisara, T. 2. Neo-noir, Joey/Mai/Bakura, M.
1. Lightning Mutou & the LizardWomen of Io

Warnings for: Everything you'd expect from pulp sci-fi - fail science (I gave myself physics rage writing this), borderline racism (towards aliens) and scantily-clad / naked women.

**Yugi's Dream: Lightning Mutou and the Lizard-Women of Io**

The forcefield petulantly sizzled out under the sustained assault from Anzu's ray-gun. "Come on, Lightning! We've a planet to save!" She tossed her head back, the glow of the dim lighting on her hair making it appear in soft focus. Yugi blinked to try to dispel the effect.

Anzu leaned around the corner of the cell, one knee-high go-go boot pressed against the wall for leverage. The zipper on her silver mini-dress was pulled too low for modesty and Yugi tried not to stare. "Where am I?" he asked, puzzled. He looked around at unfamiliar bare walls, the cold, hard slab on which he was lying, the tracery of mellow orange lights where the force-field had been, and beyond that, a dull grey corridor, floor-lit. Something thrummed quietly in the background.

"They must have hit you harder than I thought." Anzu looked back at him, frustration evident in her tone. "You're on board the Dragon Lord's prison ship. I managed to stow away when they transported you here, and this is a prison break. Now please, Lightning, get a move on!"

Something clicked inside Yugi's mind. "Dragon Lord… Kaiba?" He sat up at last, rubbing his head to try to make the throbbing noise go away. It didn't work.

A small smile of relief showed briefly on Anzu's features before she returned to scanning the corridor, gun arm raised. "You remember, Lightning?"

"Lightning? Why do you keep calling me that, Anzu? My name's Yugi. I think you're confusing me with somebody else."

"No. See?" Anzu detached a palm-sized device from her utility belt. Her fingers skittered across its surface before she held it out to show Yugi. The display screen depicted a man, standing tall and confident, what appeared to be a large goldfish bowl nestled in the crook of his Bacofoil-clad arm.

There was no mistaking that tri-coloured hair. Yugi supposed the blonde streaks shooting out to the spiked tips could be compared to lightning. His shoulders drooped slightly. "I'm sorry, Anzu. That's the other me."

"Then it's you. Come on!" Anzu urged, tugging at Yugi's arm. Sirens blared into action as she spoke. "By all the sins of Titan… They've noticed. We're out of time." She dragged Yugi up and began running, the boy's short legs struggling to keep up.

"I told you, I'm not the one you want." He shouted after her, footsteps ringing on the metal floor.

"And I told you that you are. Please try to keep up!" She pivoted to aim the ray-gun at something behind them, the crackle of an energy bolt zapping past Yugi's ear. There was a hiss as the shot connected. Yugi glanced back as he ran to see something long and snake-like crumple to the ground. Whatever it was must have been seven feet tall.

That was all the encouragement Yugi needed to stay with the girl with the gun. That, and watching Anzu run in such a short skirt had its perks. "Where are we going?" he gasped. To be out of breath already was bad. It was all that time spent standing around watching the other Yugi duel, and skipping gym class to play board games with Ryou.

"To your ship, of course. I hope you remember how to fly it." Anzu stopped outside one of several identical featureless doors set into the seemingly endless corridor, pressing her ear to the door to listen.

"We'll find out." Yugi assured Anzu with a nervous smile.

"Stand back," she whispered, pushing him to the side of the door, before kicking it open with a wild yell. Five shots later and they were running again, heading for something that looked like a cross between a bottle rocket and a muscle car, all fins and brushed chrome and oversized light bulbs.

Anzu spun a wheel on the entrance hatch, tugging it open. Yugi noted the stylised lightning bolt emblazoned on the hatch. "After you," she insisted, and he scrambled inside, clambering over pipes and past panels of flashing lights to reach the cockpit. The leather seats there were surprisingly comfortable and he strapped himself into one as he heard Anzu shut the door with a clang and scamper up the fuselage to slide down into the seat next to him.

"Overriding the docking bay doors," she announced, flicking a few overhead switches. Anzu's half of the cockpit was ridiculously complex, with dials and gauges and toggles and levers. "Priming thrusters." Yugi's, on the other hand, resembled an arcade game cabinet – a joystick and a few chunky red buttons, one covered by a plastic panel that could be flipped up with a finger. "Main screen on." The black wall in front of them lit up with a neon wire-frame model, showing the doors of the bay slowly pulling apart, pinprick stars revealed between them and a green arrow curving up away from Yugi and toward the void. Anzu flashed a determined smile at Yugi. "All set. Take us out, Lightning!"

This, I can do, thought Yugi, and he pushed forward on the joystick, gunning the ship through the doors and into space.

* * *

><p>The spaceship drifted, a curious wide-eyed face at one porthole. The vast expanse of nothingness made Yugi feel slightly nauseous, not helped by being overly warm from the silvery spacesuit Anzu had insisted he change into. She, however, remained unremittingly scantily-clad, not entirely a bad thing in Yugi's eyes.<p>

They were supposed to be coming up with a plan to free the people of Io, who had been enslaved when their Queen teamed up with the evil Dragon Lord Kaiba. Yugi had kept telling Anzu that he wasn't some great space adventurer, that he was at best a card game hero, and at worst simply a kid trying to make up his last year at high school, but she just claimed he was delusional from the Dragon Lord's mind-control device. After all, he knew how to fly the ship, didn't he?

"I don't suppose we could just find Kaiba and ask him to stop," Yugi volunteered pathetically.

"You tried that last week. He laughed in your face and had you imprisoned, remember?" Anzu kept monitoring the viewscreen, the star field hanging as motionless as the spacecraft.

"No, I don't, actually." Yugi sighed.

"Did the Dragon Lord torture you?" Anzu's tone was soft, concerned. "Maybe you're repressing the bad memories."

"No, I don't think so. At least, I don't have any bruises." Yugi had examined himself pretty closely when changing to make sure he was who he thought he was.

"The Dragon Lord wouldn't use something that left marks." Anzu's voice lowered further, and Yugi had to strain to hear her. He left the porthole to join her in the cockpit, slumping down into the seat.

"I'm okay, really." Yugi tried his best reassuring smile. "I'm a little confused, but I'm sure one of us will wake up soon and we'll have a laugh about this whole deal." Anzu just looked bewildered, so he returned to the subject. "Could I challenge Kai- the Dragon Lord to a duel?" He hoped that meant "card game" in this universe, too, not that he seemed to have a deck box anywhere on his person.

Anzu's response wasn't encouraging. "That wouldn't be wise. His flagship is supported by a fleet of fighters, each heavily armed, and once aboard we'd have to face the Ionian elite guard. On the prison ship, they were just grunts. We haven't the resources to take on the Dragon Lord's bodyguards."

"On the prison ship… you mean those snake-people? They were Ionians? That's who we're fighting to save?"

"Yes." Anzu's forehead crinkled, her words catching in her throat. "I didn't want to hurt so many of them, but I had to get you out of there. You're their only hope."

I am? Yugi didn't speak the thought aloud, feeling incredulity wouldn't help Anzu right now. Instead he placed his hand on hers, comfortingly, as she had done for him many times before. It seemed to work, the threat of tears receding from her blue eyes – if it had ever really been there – as she curled her fingers around his.

"How about this queen, then?" Yugi ventured, still thinking about the task. Anzu snapped her fingers away, sending them dancing across the device that must have been a miniature tablet computer. Yugi leaned across to look.

"It's a possibility." Anzu scanned the diagrams intently. "She remains on Io, and the palace seems less fortified than the flagship. If we could get to her, we'd have a bargaining position, at least."

"It's a start?" Yugi silently thanked Ryou for all those roleplaying sessions. He might actually be able to muddle through.

"Plotting the coordinates now, Lightning." Anzu's face lit up, both from her smile and the green arrow that appeared on the viewscreen.

"Hold tight." Yugi's eyes narrowed in fierce concentration as he threw the joystick forward, watching the stars become streaks, a vibration beneath his feet the only other indication of the ship's sudden acceleration.

* * *

><p>The moon hung bloated and yellow in the viewscreen, its pockmarked surface unchallenging as Anzu scanned the defences. At long last she looked up. "They're not firing on us. Either they haven't noticed we're here, or we're expected."<p>

"I guess we need to land then." We'll soon find out, thought Yugi grimly.

Anzu nodded, punching up a trajectory. "Take the descent at this angle. It's a thin atmosphere, but it could still hurt the ship."

"There's an atmosphere? That's peculiar for a moon…" Yugi thought of a more important question as he guided the ship towards the surface. "Is it breathable?"

"I wouldn't recommend it." Anzu gave a mischievous smile. "It's mostly sulphur dioxide. It'll smell like Jounouchi's bar after curry night."

Yugi chuckled, fighting to keep the ship steady as the buffeting began. "How do the Ionians stand it?"

"Just used to it, I guess." Anzu calmly dealt with Yugi's questions, taking his supposed amnesia in her stride. "They've modified parts of their cities to suit us, though. When we first made contact they were really keen to get along with us, but the Dragon Lord took advantage of that kindness and, well, here we are." She shrugged in the chair.

The ship took an unusually large knock, a klaxon suddenly blaring from somewhere behind Yugi's right ear, causing him to jump away and catch his head a knock on the console. He rubbed the sore spot, looking anxiously over at Anzu, who was frantically pushing buttons. "We've got company!" she yelled over the clamour. "Switching to camera!"

The view on screen shimmered, the pixellated graphics being replaced by a view from a camera situated, Yugi figured out, on one of the tail fins of the rocket. Two monstrous horned feet gripped the rocket, silvery-blue wingtips slowly beating in and out of the yellow-cast frame. "Well, we know they've spotted us, then." Yugi shouted, frowning in thought. "Shut down the thrusters, Anzu."

"Are you sure, Lightning?" Her finger poised over the cut-off switch.

"Certain." Yugi managed a nervous smile. "If they were trying to kill us, they've had the opportunity. Given that we're still here, I'd rather not appear hostile, or shake the ship apart trying to break free."

Anzu nodded, flipping the switch. "Engines full stop." With that, the ship stopped shaking and the alarm stopped, leaving only the ringing in Yugi's ears. "What now, Lightning?"

"Now, we wait, I suppose." Yugi hoped that playing by ear wasn't an idiot's tactic. There was a feeling like butterflies in his stomach as the ship lost altitude, and an increasing pressure in his ears that replaced the tinnitus with pain. He gritted his teeth, pinching his nose and blowing hard to alleviate the discomfort.

Anzu's giggle sounded like it was coming from far away. "One day you'll get used to it, I promise." She didn't seem in any distress.

On the viewscreen it was hard to see much beyond the huge feet and the bulbous form of the spacecraft, but when the nose dipped occasionally the dusty yellow surface of the moon came into view, punctuated here and there by patches of white or mountains that seemed all the bigger for how far away they were. The sky was clear, and the dim light and sallow hue gave a sense of dusk to the place. The limb of Jupiter was just visible on the horizon.

Eventually a more regular patch of rock came into view, indicating something made rather than formed, great spires of twisted volcanic rock arcing up toward the silver craft. "They're taking us straight to the palace," Anzu confirmed, pulling up a schematic of the interior for Yugi to study.

"Well, that's what we wanted I guess," Yugi smiled weakly, trying to plan his opening lines in his head.

"Don't worry, Lightning." Anzu clasped his hand briefly and Yugi's smile became a blush, enjoying the familiarity.

There was a gentle bump as the craft landed, Anzu springing to her feet to wait by the exit hatch, hand on raygun holster and looking to Yugi for direction. "You're not wearing a spacesuit?" he asked, eying his own helmet apprehensively.

"They're taking us inside the palace," Anzu explained as the ship shuddered forward on some kind of conveyor. "It'll be safe in there."

"Safe. I like that word," Yugi joined Anzu at the hatch, silently praying she was right. He'd always relied on her cheerful support, and that now meant trusting her with his life.

The hatch hissed open as the pressure equalised, revealing a troupe of green-skinned creatures, each muscle and sinew clearly visible as their armour was clearly more for ornamental than protective purposes, being scanty and adorned with curlicues of gold. Judging from the build of the creatures, and the length and point of each one's sword, it would not be wise to get into a fight with one, regardless of the state of their armour. One moved forward, removing his shimmering helmet to address Yugi. "Our Queen requests your presence." Yugi nodded, grateful he could understand the alien. Anzu moved to exit the rocket, but found crossed swords in her way. "Alone," the guard emphasised, flicking his reptilian-slitted eyes in her direction. Anzu reluctantly stepped back, eyes hard-set, ready to act if the word was given. It was not. Yugi brushed past her, whispering a reassurance on the way. She nodded, satisfied but still on guard.

It was a long walk through the palace, surrounded on all sides by the Queen's guard. Yugi kept track of each monumental door and cavernous hallway, mentally plotting them on Anzu's plan of the palace. Soon he calculated they must be approaching the centre. He was asked to wait while the sentries flanking the massive entrance to the Queen's chambers pushed the doors open.

The chamber was dark and it took Yugi's eyes some time to adjust before he realised he was looking into a cave, steps leading down. A prod from behind sent him stumbling forward, heading towards the faint blue phosphorescence in the distance.

Yugi felt the Queen's words in his mind before he saw her. /You may call me Keroessa, daughter of Io./ Years of living with the Pharoah's spirit had inured him to such telepathic contact. /Yugi Mutou,/ he sent back.

There was a pause. /Then, you are not the one I am looking for?/

/Lightning?/ Yugi sighed as he plodded downwards. /Everyone else seems to think I am. I guess, I don't know, maybe I am./

The Queen's chuckle made itself felt. /You seem unsure of yourself, little one. But I think you have strengths you have yet to fully acknowledge./

The shape in front of Yugi became closer as he approached it, a pale, glowing form, maybe six times his height. A woman, naked from the waist up, implausibly long white hair spilling over her shoulders, arms crossed covering her chest. Her skin was pale, almost translucent. Cables wrapped her from pointed toes to hips, snaking up to the ceiling from which she was suspended. Her eyes were closed. /I require your assistance, Yugi Lightning Mutou./

"That's my line." Yugi tried talking out loud now he was in the Queen's vicinity, but his words came out small and hoarse in the vast cavern.

/Then you must speak first, of course. As my guest./ He almost thought he imagined the quirk at the corner of Keroessa's lips.

"It's about the Dragon Lord. Your people are suffering because of him. Do you think you could perhaps, um, call off the alliance?" Yugi braced himself for an attack that didn't come.

Sadness filled Yugi's thoughts. /I loved him, once. I was willing to do anything for him. To sacrifice my people, to chain myself up here to power his empire, to strike at anything that threatened him./

"But he changed?"

/Yes. When you emerged, he became focused on destroying you. He used my people to attack the innocent. He forgot to visit me, seeing only my usefulness to his aims./

"Why? I'm just…" Just what? A kid, a king, a freelance adventurer? "Just me."

/There was a rebellion on Europa. You fought on the side of the rebels, the Dragon Lord supported the government. Freedom was an admirable aim, but for the Europans, it was too much too soon. Because you won, the Europans are starving, fighting each other for food. Had the government retained control, the Dragon Lord could have influenced it, caused change from within. But you refused to see the good in him, and trust him, and he now cannot see the good within himself./

"I didn't know." Yugi looked down, contemplating the floor, trying to comprehend the enormity of what he had supposedly done.

The cables shifted, tightening, the glowing figure shrinking and inclining her head down towards him. Her eyes opened, slowly, as if she was remembering how to do so. They were a striking blue against her pale skin. She reached out a hand to brush his face. /It is not your place to feel shame. You are not responsible for the actions of your other self./

"So what do you need from me?"

/Your ship. Take me to the Dragon Lord. He will let your ship pass when he senses me. I will do what I can to save him from his own mind, and perhaps we will then both achieve our aims./

"Don't you have a ship of your own?"

/It will not fly. My fleet is grounded, until such time as the Dragon Lord deems it appropriate./ As Keroessa's feet touched the floor, the cables retracted and Yugi averted his gaze.

"Then let's go." Yugi listened for the Queen's footsteps padding up behind him on the basalt steps. Reaching the top, he pulled an embroidered cape off a surprised-looking sentry, wrapping it around Keroessa's shoulders. Outside of the cavern, her skin merely shimmered with a silvery cast. Otherwise, she seemed perfectly human.

The Queen must have ordered her guards to stand down, as Yugi walked through the palace unchallenged. Back at the ship, Anzu gave him a hard look as she spotted the company he was keeping. "I told you to stop collecting naked alien women, Lightning," she whispered as he passed.

"It just seems to happen," Yugi rubbed the back of his head apologetically.

"What's the plan, anyway?" Anzu secured the hatch once the full complement were aboard.

"This is Keroessa – the Queen," Yugi explained. "We're taking her to the Dragon Lord in the hope she can talk him out of things."

"You think she'll have better luck than you?" Anzu's expression was unconvinced.

"She thinks it's worth a try."

"Then to the flagship it is." Anzu took her usual seat, plotting the coordinates while Yugi attempted, and failed, to find a comfortable and secure place for the Queen to sit amid the tubing of the rocket's midsection. "She'll have to sit on your knee," Anzu called back.

"Oh. Sorry," Yugi apologised to the Queen as he took his seat. She followed. /There are worse things than to be held in a man's arms,/ Keroessa projected with a smile.

Anzu must have heard it too, as she looked up, fuming. "We're ready to go, Lightning, if you would care to separate business and pleasure?"

* * *

><p>As Keroessa had indicated, it had been a simple matter to approach the Dragon Lord's fleet. They were escorted in to the flagship by a dozen fighters, just in case Lightning got any heroic ideas, and Keroessa was now ensconced in the Dragon Lord's quarters while Yugi and Anzu waited outside, kicking their heels on the high-backed chairs.<p>

"I can't get over his hair," Yugi chuckled. "It was always shaggy, but I never thought I'd see it grow to waist length."

"You're one to talk about silly hair," Anzu pointed out.

"Don't you like it? I think it makes me look distinguished. Like Grandpa."

Anzu stifled a snort. "That old pervert, distinguished?"

"Please don't talk about him like that. And I've seen pictures. Back in his youth, he could pull off a tuxedo with style."

"Now that I have to see," Anzu smiled, and Yugi wondered what Sugoroku was up to in this universe. He still hoped this was a dream, but he'd like to see Grandpa before he woke up. "But at least I know where you get your womanising tendencies."

"I am not a womaniser!" Yugi stuck his tongue out, offended. "Some women just seem to like me, that's all."

"Yeah, and if they're naked and silver, that's just a bonus."

"There's only one girl for me." Yugi's cheeks flushed again as he admitted the truth.

Anzu didn't turn from him, instead letting her face soften and her hand rest gently on Yugi's. Yugi tried to make sense of the gesture. "But I thought you were interested in the other me. Lightning."

"It's you, Yugi." Anzu tried the name experimentally. "It was always you."


	2. 21

**Author's notes**

Warnings for: gambling, alcohol, DUI, implied sexitiems, genderbending I guess (does that need a warning?), some strong-ish language, violence, (consensual) sexual violence of a sort and, um, character death… yeah, this is the reason I just had to up the rating on this fic.

I took the decision to use dub names for this because they're just _made_ for noir.

"The house doesn't beat the player. It just gives him the opportunity to beat himself." _- Nick Dandolos, poker player_

**Joey's Dream: 21**

The stack of chips in front of me has been shrinking all evening. I order another coke from the waitress – it's free while I'm playing – and take another look at the numbers on the cards in front of me. 2, 4, 7, 3 still spells doom, but with the dealer's Queen on show, I've got no choice. I tap the table for another hit, meeting her eyes with a confidence I don't feel as she slips the card from the shoe. It's a picture, and so's my face I'm sure as she reveals her ace and rakes my chips, and those of my foolhardy comrades, towards her. I share a wry smile with the player to my right, the used car salesman with mortgage worries. My drink comes and I gulp it down, swilling the syrup around my parched mouth. I notice my fingernails are bitten raw, red beading up around the cuticle of my right thumb, and I lick the droplet off impatiently.

It only takes another couple of rounds before I'm all out. I've won enough in my life that I should be living comfortably, but I can't ever seem to hold on to it, and I find myself back in dumps like this, waiting to be steered to the door. I'm convinced that that's what the hand at my elbow means, until the hand slides a small pile of chips in front of me and I smell her: rose and sandalwood. I count the chips. There's just enough to cover the minimum bet.

"Let him play." Her voice is husky behind my left ear, and it stays the dealer's hand as she's about to pass me over. I'm dealt two cards and, once I've assessed my chances, only then do I look up. She's sporting the uniform blouse and waistcoat of the croupier, but below that a leather miniskirt and fishnets. She wears clothes like others carry weapons.

Sometimes Lady Luck smiles on me when I need her most. Not tonight. As I watch my chips get swallowed up by the house, she walks off, and I bolt up from the table to weave my way through the throng behind her. My Mai.

She's perched on a stool by the bar, long legs crossed elegantly. I take the empty stool next to hers. My smile feels lopsided on my face. "So, are you allowed to fraternise with the customers?"

"Go home, Mr. Wheeler." It's not the best response I could have hoped for, so I try again.

"You used to call me Joey, remember?"

She sighs, picking the lemon slice off the martini glass in front of her. There's something pink in it, a Cosmopolitan maybe. I try, and fail, to detect the smell of cranberry over the spilt beer and nervous sweat of the bar area.

"No, I don't, actually. Was it a very long time ago?" She turns to me, her eyes cold.

"A couple of years, I guess." I hold her gaze, willing it to soften, waiting for her to smile and reveal the joke, maybe to tap my knee as she laughs. It's not happening.

"You're cleaned out, I know. I'll bet all that's in your pocket is lint, and that won't get you a drink here. Security already have their eye on you." She gestures with her glass, and yeah, the suits are watching the bad luck kid. They'll be nice enough, escorting me off the premises, since they know I'll come back to lose a little more, but they don't want me harassing the staff and taking up valuable space that some high-roller could be occupying with his trophy wife. When I look back she's drained the glass. "Don't you have a home to go to?"

"Yeah," I sulk, but I know it's not my home, it's Yugi's. I'm staying there while I can't make rent.

She must have picked up a tell in my face, or I'm just a bad liar, because she's unfolding those legs that go all the way up and sliding off the stool. "I'm off shift now, anyway. You can stay at mine tonight. For old times' sake."

My jaw drops and I just sit there as she walks off. Way to act smooth, Joey. She turns. "Well, are you coming, or aren't you?"

Now, I don't make a habit of picking up women in bars, or going home with girls I've just met, but Mai Valentine and I go way back. Waaaay back. We were friends, and we dated, we even lived together for a bit, but Mai gets cold feet. Every few months she'll just take off and go find herself or something, I don't know. I don't think she's doing a very good job of it because she keeps finding me instead.

She's still got the red Cadillac. It's warm enough outside to drive with the top down, but she puts on driving gloves anyway. She says it's for grip, and maybe that makes her feel safer because she takes off at a fearsome pace. She's always driven like the hounds of hell are after her.

Yeah, it was a bad idea to go back to Mai's, all right. We're chatting (I find out she's now an inspector, not a dealer, but she's still not feeling fulfilled), she's drinking (she finds out I just gambled away the last of my tournament winnings), and before I know it she's moving closer on the couch and we're drowning our sorrows in each other's arms.

* * *

><p>She shakes me awake in the morning, eyes wide with fear. I try to fumble away from her hands under the covers, but I can hear banging from somewhere. My fogged brain eventually pegs it as an overenthusiastic knock at the door. "I knew it," I mutter, staring up at her accusingly. "You've got a boyfriend."<p>

"No," she starts, but corrects herself, hanging her head. "Yes. I guess I do. Just make yourself scarce, okay?" She indicates the window – thankfully Mai's place is a bungalow so I won't hurt myself jumping – and hurriedly dresses, running her fingers through her hair as she shuts the bedroom door behind her.

I'm hopping one-legged into my pants as I hear the voices. I can't pick out many words he says, only hear the deep rumble through the walls, but it doesn't sound like there's a lot of love between the two. Mai's putting on her tough-girl bluster and whoever this guy is, he's not taking it. As I tuck my shirt in I'm begging to hear the sound of a fist hitting a wall so I can go out there and beat the crap out of him. Yeah, Mai told me not to get involved, but that hasn't stopped me before and it sure as hell won't now.

The door slams and there's silence. I wait for Mai to come in and ask me why I'm still here, so I can tell her I still care for her whatever trouble she's in, so she can tell me she's realised she's sorry she left me and won't ever do it again, but there's still silence. I risk a peek round the door. Nothing. She must have gone with him.

I toy with the idea of trying the front door, but it doesn't feel right, and I don't want to be seen until I've had a chance to assess this guy. There's a memo board in the hallway by the phone, wiped clean, and I scribble my number on it just in case. It hasn't changed, but she might have lost it. That done, I climb out of the window, shutting it behind me and wondering if it's okay to leave it unlocked, or if anyone's going to report me for burglary and make my day just that little bit worse.

The Caddy's gone from out front, and there's no sign of Mai or Mr. Personality. I shove my hands in my pockets and mooch aimlessly around the neighbourhood. It's a long walk home and I've got no money for public transport, and I'm not sticking my thumb up for a lift in this mean mood. My steps are taking me back towards the casino. Betrayed by my own feet.

* * *

><p>The casino is a dreary-looking dame during the day without all her neon glamour. I'm lurking outside the entrance, eyeing the next door burger joint hungrily. Sorry, Lady Luck, but I'd cheat on you right now for a decent meal. I don't even know if Mai's in there. She works nights, after all. So I'm surprised when I see her striding determinedly through the revolving door. I'm even more surprised by the sharp-suited blond guy behind her. Well, surprised is the wrong word. Think freaking terrified, pissing my pants, 'Nam flashback time. What Mai's doing with that psychotic freakshow, I can't even begin to imagine. What he's doing alive and walking around in broad daylight is even more of a mystery. I dive behind a parked car, watching them through the windows.<p>

Marik's evil twin is looking pretty self-confident in shades. He's wearing an earpiece, too. Must be moonlighting as security or something. I follow them up the street towards the parking garage, staying behind and using cover. Mai looks different. She didn't have chance to brush her hair this morning so I can understand it looking a little wild, but she can't have found time to bleach it, too. Must be the light. I'm used to being pretty much nocturnal, now.

They're getting into Mai's car and that means I don't have time to think straight. Old instincts take over and I'm hotwiring one in a dark corner before I realise it. My hands are on the steering wheel and the insignia tells me it's a Honda. Damn company needs to work on their security tech. With Mai driving I don't know how the hell I'm going to keep up without getting stopped for speeding – in a stolen car, way to go, self – but apparently I'm going to give it a try.

I've lost sight of her by the time I exit the garage, and I'm regretting all my bad decisions over the last day, year, whatever. But I'm committed to this now. I drum my fingers on the steering wheel waiting for the lights to change and figure I'll head to Mai's. She's gotta turn up there sooner or later.

It's a good guess. I cruise past looking for the Cadillac and, when I spot it, park a few streets over and double back on foot. The lights are on in the front room and from the shadows on the curtains I figure the two of them are in there. I remember the open window and head round the back, giving it a test pry with a long-deceased credit card. She hasn't gotten around to locking it yet and it gives pretty easily. I slide the window up as quietly as I can. There's a small squeak at the top and I pause for a minute, heart thumping, but there's no sign of movement – the bedroom door's closed – and I climb in, pulling the window down behind me.

I sneak over to the door and listen. As this morning, muffled voices, tones maybe, but no more. I inch the door handle down to push it open a tiny crack. That helps. I can't see them from this angle, but that should mean they can't see me, either. Still, I'm tense, ready to move if the need arises.

It sounds like they're working through some sort of list. They start with a name, rattle off a few vital statistics, funds and connections and such, and Mai gives a yes or no after each. I can't quite work it out. I don't want to think of Mai being mixed up in something illegal, but if it's legitimate casino stuff, surely they have an office for paperwork. I rack my brains for what else it could be. It sure isn't Marik's birthday party invitations.

Whatever this is, it's been going on for a while, and they're not going to explain themselves for the benefit of one eavesdropping housebreaker. I'm about to sneak out when there's movement, shadows appearing in the hallway, and I think I have a better idea. If I can hide myself for now, maybe I can sneak into the lounge later and get a look at that list. I know it's not gonna be headed "Evil Plan: How to Take Over the World in Ten Easy Steps" but maybe there's something with it that could help. Or I could just confront Mai when I know Marik's out of range.

So, with the best will in the world, and none of the brains, I jump into the closet, stashing myself behind Mai's army of cocktail dresses. There's a shoe rack cutting uncomfortably into the calves of my legs, and fur trim on something itching my nose, but through the louvre doors I can see Mai's legs walking in and I stay still and try to breathe quietly, waiting to see if she's alone.

When she shut the bedroom door behind her, that's when I should have made my presence known. Or better, once she'd drawn the curtains, and then I could have reminded her to lock the window while she was at it, there were some pretty unsavoury folks around tonight, after all. But I wasn't fast enough, and the longer I left it, the more and more awkward my appearance would have seemed, particularly when the stockings started to be rolled down and the bare feet stepped first out of the skirt and then the black lace panties and I'm thanking the angle of the slats that I can only see her from her thighs down, until she's lying on the bed, and I should look away, I know I should look away from this woman and this incredibly private and personal display of affection, but I'm jealous that I've never heard the soft sighs she's making, that I never saw the sinuous grace of her movements amid my childishly eager belief that the bigger the bang, the better, and I'm curious about the way her own hand keeps reaching up to pull her scarf tighter around her neck, and when her eyes open I swear she's looking straight at me and I hold my breath as she smiles and try to think how I can explain this and still come off as the good guy but she just gets up, puts on a robe that was hanging on the back of the door, and heads out of the bedroom.

My heart pumps as I let out an almost explosive sigh. The window's still unlocked. Maybe I can make it. Sacrificing silence for speed, I bolt from the closet, but as I'm lifting the frame I can feel a sharp point at my throat and I know she's been just as fast. I raise my hands, daring to glance down to assess the threat. It's a carving knife, but I wouldn't be feeling any better right now if it had been a potato peeler.

"Joey Wheeler," she purrs, spinning me slowly around with a hand on my shoulder. "Mai told you to leave this morning, yet here you are."

"Mai told me…?" I ask, incredulously, wondering if Malik drives everyone to split personalities by association. But she's still got that wild platinum blonde hair, and her eyes are narrowed in a familiar smirk, and I'm starting to get a real bad feeling. "I want to talk to Mai. Let me see Mai."

"She doesn't want to see you," not-Mai says, guiding me away from the window with the point of the knife. "I can't say I'm surprised, really." I'm walking backwards, taking tiny steps to be sure of my footing, but now I can feel the wall against my heel. I'm backed up into a corner. Great. I used to be able to take guys like this on with my hands in my pockets. I'm not sure if my reflexes are that sharp any more.

"What are you making her do, Bakura?" I hurl the accusation and the theory together.

"Heh." She blinks with a self-satisfied smile. "I'm not making her do anything against her will. It's a nice little partnership we've got here. Mai hands me a new host body, helps me with my dreams, and I help her with her nightmares. Make her feel like she's worth a damn."

"You do? I don't recall that being the case with Ryou." I'm scanning her, looking for a lapse in concentration, a way I can duck out from under her and make for the door, but really, I want to speak to Mai, so I keep talking.

"People change." That smirk's getting irritating.

"Millenia-old demon spirits don't."

"Maybe not." I can feel the point of the knife puckering my skin as she twists it slightly. "But I can appreciate a strong spirit, and a will to win. Mai has a determination Ryou lacked, and she's willing to use it to help me, because in turn I'm helping her."

"Let her tell me that."

"And then what? I don't think you're in a position to negotiate here." But a scowl crosses her face, the hair softens and glows golden again, and Mai's looking back at me. The knife stays exactly where it is.

"I told you to leave, Joey. You don't want to be mixed up in this." There's a tone in her voice I'd not wanted to hear again, the kind of scornful detachment she had when I first met her, or when she was working for Dartz.

"I don't want you to be mixed up in this. Care to tell me what 'this' is, by the way? 'Cause you seem to be associating with some pretty shady characters." Myself included.

"It's best you don't know. He might let you live, then." Something in her still wants to protect me, and I take that as the first good sign of the evening. I wish the caveat had been more than a 'might', though.

"Christ, Mai. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

"It's none of your business."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I made it very much my business. Seriously, what is it with you and these world-domination types?"

She slaps me for that. Maybe I deserve it, I don't know. "Bakura told you the truth. He's helping me become something greater."

I laugh, despite myself. "Mai, can you hear yourself? When we talked last night, you didn't sound like you had any sort of brilliant life plan. And giving yourself up to this madman isn't going to make you stronger."

She flushes, angry red spots on her cheeks. "You don't understand what I've been through."

"The heck I don't!" I want to slap her, now, but I resort to shouting, despite my face being mere inches from hers. "You know what I've seen. You know what I've done, even. Grow up, Mai. Take some goddamn responsibility and just grow up!"

Bad move, Wheeler. Her eyes harden in outrage, and with a flicker Bakura's back. I don't have time to react as she takes my head in both hands and whams it hard against the wall.

* * *

><p>The burlap sack comes off my head again. There's a mirrored wall opposite in the otherwise black room and I watch my head lolling to one side through swollen eyelids. My face is such a patchwork of purple, black and red that I don't recognise it. The blood encrusted in my matted hair makes tufts of it stand up. I try again to wriggle my wrists and ankles to free them from the tape binding them to the chair, but my movements are getting more sluggish with each beating.<p>

It takes me a moment to realise what's happening when Marik shoves the glass under my nose. "Drink?" he asks, seemingly delighted by his own kindness.

The fumes of whisky reach my nose and I decline, the croak of my voice betraying my scorched mouth and distended tongue. "I don't drink alcohol." Even in this state, I don't want to become any more like my father. "I'd kill for a glass of water, though, if you'd just let me out of this chair."

He laughs, full and throatily, his upper body shaking with the exertion. "Not a chance. Your body's mine, your soul's Bakura's. You get what's left over afterwards. That's the deal." He throws the drink in my face, the alcohol stinging in the open wounds and dribbling stickily down my chin and neck.

"Doesn't sound like much of a bargain to me," I hiss through the pain. While he's talking, he's not reaching for the sack, or for the implements on the table to my left, so I like to keep him occupied.

"It's the same one everybody gets." That's their plan, you see. They've been preying on the casino down-and-outs, the unlucky addicts no-one will miss. I guess Bakura's aiming for some sort of grand resurrection plan. Marik? Marik just loves to hurt people. And boy, was I in the wrong place at the wrong time. "I'm always inspired by your fortitude, Joey Wheeler. People usually pass out by now."

"Well, I'm glad one of us is having fun." My head drops forward and a dislodged tooth falls into my lap.

"I think there's plenty more fun left in you yet." Marik's reaching for something that reminds me unpleasantly of a pizza cutter when a door opens on my right. Mai's standing there, and she's never looked more defiantly beautiful to me than when she holds that arm out straight, aiming the little pearl-handled revolver at my gracious host, dropping him with two bullets to the head.

I wasn't expecting her to turn the barrel on me next. "Should I put you out of your misery, Mr. Wheeler?"

Her expression's too blank for me to read whether she's joking or not. I wish she'd pulled this stunt an hour earlier when my brains weren't already leaking out of my ears. I sigh and look up, managing my best gutter-punk smile through crooked and broken teeth. "It's your move, Mai."


End file.
